The musical hardwoods

n IRDS do it. Bees do it. F.ven exED cavated trees do it'

They all can make music. F'or centuries, certain hardwoods have been reserved for use in the manufacture of musical instruments. Some are selected for the wood's distinct sounding qualities, others for their beauty, strength or resistance to wear.

For woodwind instruments, the best wood is usually African blackwood, replacing the traditional, no longer accessible cocuswood. The straight-grained, dark purple-brownalmost blackwood is ideal for oboes. flutes and clarinets and for the chanters of bagpiPes.

In addition to giving a good tone, blackwood has perfectly suited working properties: it can be turned and bored to provide a smooth finish, it is hard enough to be taPPed for the screw-threads of the metal pillars of the keys, and its movement is verY slight.

Another wood seeminglY created for musical uses is brazilwood. lt is specially prized for but one use: as violin and cello bows. The hardwood is remarkably resilient, featuring just the right combination of weight, flexibility and strength. Snakewood has also been used, but is said to produce inferior bows.

Wavy-grained sycamore is the traditional wood for the violins themselves. Other string instruments are o TPl, SPIB, AWPB, UL quality programs

I Lumber, timber & plywood treating o TSO available . 4 million ft, in stock o Distribution from Rockies to East Coast o Dallas distribution center and rail yard o Company trucks & rail shipments a 40 acre mill site aTwin 80' cylinders o Chipmill, sawmill, chip & canter o 12 acre rail yard o Planing mill & reman, a Steam kilns & co-gen, "l"laulQ^-rrrra .l SU*^ K;l^ often built of black cherry or nraple, which displays high resistance to abrasion.

Hickory and the closely related species pecan are commonly used for drum sticks. Their high bending and crushing strength, high shock resis' tance and rating among the strongest of U.S. hardwoods make them suit' able for such striking purposes. l)rum sticks have also been nranufactured from exotic snakewood, lancewood (one of the world's heaviest woods), and hornbeant (which is extremely resistant to splitting).

A most musically versatile wood is ebony. Traditionally the standard for the black keys ofkeyboard instruments, the hardwood is also used for the fittings, fingerboards and pegs of violins, for organ stops, castanets, parts of bagpipes and other musical instruments. Ebony is exceptionally dense, heavy, hard, strong, stiff, shock resistant and takes an excellent finish.

Yet the high cost of ebonY has

Story at a Glance

Hardwoods are used for a wide range of musical instruments ... note-able woods maY feature high strength, durabilitY or resonance.

necessitated manufacturers dying other woods black as substitutes for piano and organ keYs and violin, guitar, piano and mandolin fingerboards. ('ommon stand-ins include maracaibo boxwood. holly and Pear.

Piano keys are also made from basswood and European limel piano actions lrom Japanese, rock and soft nraplel organ sounding boards from obeche and South Anrerican cedar, and cases, legs and other Parts from calantas, sen. mahogany, mansonia. taun and llrazilian and [{onduras rosewoods.

Proximity to local hardwoods is often a consideration for instrument builders. In Hawaii, the stunning native hardwood koa is used for the state's world famous ukuleles, while in Africa, the resonant properties of West African cordia make it the natural choice for traditional drums. In Central and South Anlerica and parts of Africa, the keys of marinrbas (primitive xylophones) are nrade from Honduras rosewood or the more accessible Brazilian tulipwood or nracacauba.

Other hardwoods used lor various instrument parts include amboYna, Australian cedar. beech, Yellow birch. boxwood, coachwood, red ivorywood, Indian laurel, kiri, jacaranda pardo, mutenYe, nreranti. merbau, Andaman padauk, Paldao, Indian rosewood, sapele, sePetir, silver ash. utile and walnut.

Death Of A Home Center Chain

Twenty one, the magical age for many, is a symbol of disaster for Handy Dan, San Antonio, Tx., as the home center chain begins liquidation.

The timetable below records its cycle of success and failure.

Oct. 14, 1968: first Handy Dan Home Center opened by George Hanzi and a group of investors in San Antonio. Second store opened two weeks later.

Dec. 1968: Daylin Corp., a California company, buys Handy Dan and announces expansion into Houston.

May 1974: With stores in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Waco, Corpus Christi, Lubbock and Amarillo, Handy Dan plans to build third and fourth stores in San Antonio.

Nov. 1976: 100,000 sq. ft. distribution center opens in San Antonio.

March 1979: W. R. Grace Co. buys Handy Dan.

Sept. 1979: Fifth San Antonio Handy Dan opens.

May 1980: Sixth San Antonio Handy Dan opens.

Sept. 1980: Seventh San Antonio Handy Dan opens.

May 1981: David Saks is named president of the Handy Dan southwest/southeast div.

March 1982: Saks becomes president of Handy Dan central region.

May 1982: Ninth San Antonio Handy Dan opens.

Feb. 1983: Handy Dan and Handy City Inc. (also W. R. Grace) merge.

Oct. 1984: Handy Dan stays open Sundays, testing Texas "blue law."

Feb. 1985: Handy Dan is sued by Texas attorney general for over collection of sales tax.

Nov. 1986: W. R. Grace sells Handy Dan to Channel Home Centers Inc. in a leveraged buyout.

Jan. 1987: Channel Home Center announces it is considering closure of the San Antonio DC.

June 1987: San Antonio warehouse closes.

July 1987: Pat Brooker Rd. store in San Antonio closes.

April 1989: Channel Home Centers announces Handy Dan regional administration office in San Antonio will close in two months.

June 1989: Channel Home Centers puts Handy Dan on market.

Aug. 1989: Liquidation.

Texans Lose Competitor

Texas home centers sharing market area with the 40 remaining Handy Dan Home Centers are anticipating an increase in business when they close permanently this fall.

Foxworth-Galbraith Building Materials Center, McCoys Building Supply Center and Payless Cashways Building Materials stores stand to gain with one less competitor.

Clint Dixon, assistant manager of Payless Cashways in Waco, Tx., said, "With the economy the way it is, people are shopping around a little more. I'm sure it will give us an opportunity to increase market share, but how much I can't really say."

The Handy Dan in Waco reportedly had sales of more than $45,000 on one day alone, but Dixon said it was not affecting his business. "l got a parking lot full of people," he commented.

Channel Home Centers Inc., Whippany, N.J., acquired about 100 Handy Dan Home Centers in a leveraged buyout in 1986. Since then they have closed or sold approximately 60 units. The stores being closed are the last of the chain.

\\\[f Installing the ProfitMaster point of sale system is like having Superman behind your check-out counter. All of a sudden he knows exactly what's in inventory. He can "package sell" a redwood deck as a unit and easily capture all the component stock information. He eliminates the need to batch enter the day's invoices. And he serves your customers with increased speed and accuracy. You know, a lot of computer companies talk about a good pointof.sale system. But ProfitMaster delivers. Ask us. \Jile'll give you an

9cotty'r Megahrckr Remodcl

Scotty's Inc. is going to spend about a million dollars to redesign stores and increase inventory mix.

The number of products for sale in each store will more than double, according to Daryl L. Lansdale, the new president of Scotty's. Product inventory will jump from I 1,000 items to at least 25,000.

Lansdale said Scotty's is not trying to be another Home [)epot, but wants to offer consumers a choice. "We're going to do about $600 million in sales in Florida this year," he said. "We must be doing something right."

Updating costs are estimated at about $500,000 to $l million per

Personals

(Continucd frcm page 26) l,arry Kenny has been named mktg./ sales mgr. lor Weyerhaeuser's New Bern. N.C.. sawmill and Jacksonville, N.C., plywood plant.

Scott M. Nicholson is now Stanley llardware's No. l;1. sales rep.

Ben Hathcock. Flathcock Lumber ('o., I)othan, Al., recently comPleted a Building Material Merchants Association training course.

W. J. "Bill" Booth Jr., Apex Lumber Co., Apex, N.C., has been elected chairman of the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, Forest Park, Ga. Other new ofTicers: lst vice chairman David L. Williams, Louisiana Southern l:orest Products, Opelousas, La.l 2nd vice chairman Homer t,. Keadle, Keadle Lumber Enterprises, Thomaston, Ga.l treas. Ben W. "Chip" lngram lll, Charles Ingram Lumber Co., Efiingham, S.C., and directors store. In addition to adding air conditioning, new departments such as bath and kitchen remodeling centers are planned for remodeled stores. I)rive through lumber yards will be installed at some units, l{e added that he's aiming to make Scotty's a $t billion company in the state. lt's too soon, he said, to say whether any locations will be closed, but the company will look at opening stores. ln addition to the Brandon stores, two stores in Tampa and one in Tarpon Springs are being remodeled.

Dwight Harrigan, Harrigan Lumber Co., Monroeville, Al.; George W. Varn. Varn Wood Products Co., Hoboken, Ga.l L. J. Johnson, l-'ranklin Timber Co., Bude, Ms.l Jim Gray, Wade Wood, Wade, N.C., and Cary E. Upchurch, Upchurch, Inc., Walterboro, S.C.

Mark Horne has joined the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Memphis, Tn., succeeding Joe Snyder as director of the inspection school.

Wayne Sides is the new co-mgr. of 84 Lumber Co., Doraville, Ca.

Donald W. Adams, pres.. American Stove Products, Memphis, Tn., has been elected chairman of the American Hardware Manufacturers Association.

Counterfeltere Jalled

(('ttrrtitrucd .lrotrr pugc I 7 ) the unauthorized possession and use of TP gradestamps, as well as the creation and use of counterfeit TP gradestamps. A written corporate admission and stamp creation records were obtained on May 14, 1986. Subsequently, TP cancelled its AWPB Quality Marking Contract with Escue Wood Preserving Co.

TP made a concerted effort to locate and correct substandard lumber in four states, alerted the FBI to the violation of the Federal Trademark Act, and participated in an FBI search and seizure at the EWP facility in Millwood, Ky.

"The counterfeit stamps were used at least from 1985 to 1986," Sibert said. Lumber found bearing the counterfeit marks was signifi-

Southem Assochtion News

(Continued from page 22) sas will be David Churchman, Moore & Cone Lumber Co., Newport; John A. Davis, Whit Davis Lumber Co., Jacksonvillet Ben Mayo, Mayo Building Supply, Bentonvillel Don Thompson, Barton's. Pine Bluff. cantly below grade. lt is estimated that between 500.000 and 3,000,000 board feet of lumber was fraudulantly gradestamped. "The mqiority of the illegally stamped material appeared to have been sold to an innocent purchaser, and was discovered in locations in lllinois, Indiana and Kentucky," Sibert added.

Oklahoma will be represented by Henry Bockus, Gordon White Lumber Co., Oklahoma City; David Heien, Marlow Lumber Co., Marlow; Richart Ryerson, W. W. Starr Lumber Co., Alva, and Jim Walker. Walker Lumber & Ace Hardware Co., Snyder.

Dealer trustees for the group insurance programs for both states are Jerry Caldwell, Caldwell Lumber Co., Wynne, Ar., and Dan Parrish, The Lumber Shed, Oklahoma City, Ok.

Sibert praised Scott Cox, the Assistant United States Attorney in Louisville, and Gary Perkins, of the F'Bl. for their dedicated efforts to bring this case to justice. "TP has successfully used the 1984 Trademark Act numerous times since 1986, primarily in the Southeast, but also in the Southwest regions of the USA," said Sibert.

He added "TP's aggressive pursuit of any trademark infringement, and our successful prosecutional track record, coupled with the criminal aspect of the fraudulant acts and the potential fior treble damages, should be strong deterrents to those who contemplate the unauthorized use of either the Timber Products lnspection (TP) trademark or any American Lumber Standards Committee agency logo."